Tag Archives: Arts & Entertainment Events

Hackers reverse-engineer Ticketmaster’s barcode system to unlock resales on other platforms

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Scalpers have used a security researcher’s findings to reverse-engineer “nontransferable” digital tickets from Ticketmaster and AXS, allowing transfers outside their apps. The workaround was revealed in a lawsuit AXS filed in May against third-party brokers adopting the practice, according to 404 Media, which first reported the news.

The saga began in February when an anonymous security researcher, going by the pseudonym Conduition, published technical details about how Ticketmaster generates its electronic tickets. If you aren’t already familiar with how modern e-ticketing systems work, Ticketmaster and AXS lock ticket resales inside their platforms, preventing transfers on third-party services like SeatGeek and StubHub. (For higher-priority events, they often take it a step further by prohibiting transfers to other accounts on the same platform.)

Although the companies claim the practice is strictly a security measure, it also conveniently allows them to control how and when their tickets are resold. (Yay, capitalism?)

Side-by-side phone screenshots of the Ticketmaster app showing event barcodes.
Ticketmaster

Ticketmaster and AXS create their “nontransferable” tickets using rotating barcodes that change every few seconds, preventing working screenshots or printouts. On the back end, it uses similar underlying tech similar to two-factor authentication apps. In addition, the codes are only generated shortly before an event starts, limiting the window for sharing them outside the apps. Without interference from outside parties, the platforms get to lock ticket buyers into their own resale services, giving them vertical control of the entire ecosystem.

That’s where the hackers come in. Using Conduition’s published findings, they extracted the platforms’ secret tokens that generate new tickets, using an Android phone with its Chrome browser connected to Chrome DevTools on a desktop PC. Using the tokens, they create a parallel ticketing infrastructure that regenerates genuine barcodes on other platforms, allowing them to sell working tickets on platforms Ticketmaster and AXS don’t allow. Online reports claim the parallel tickets often work at the gates.

According to 404 Media, AXS’ lawsuit accuses the defendants of selling “counterfeit” tickets (even though they usually work) to “unsuspecting customers.” The court documents allegedly describe the parallel tickets as “created, in whole or in part by one or more of the Defendants illicitly accessing and then mimicking, emulating, or copying tickets from the AXS Platform.”

AXS’ lawsuit claims the company doesn’t know how the hackers are doing it. The promise of essentially jailbreaking Ticketmaster is so lucrative that several brokers have reportedly tried hiring Conduition to help them build their own parallel ticket-generating platforms. Services already operating on the researcher’s findings go by names like Secure.Tickets, Amosa App, Virtual Barcode Distribution and Verified-Ticket.com.

404 Media’s entire story is worth reading. More technically minded folks may take an interest in Conduition’s earlier findings, which illustrate what the ticketing behemoths are doing on their back ends to keep the entire ecosystems in their clutches.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hackers-reverse-engineer-ticketmasters-barcode-system-to-unlock-resales-on-other-platforms-194826061.html?src=rss

Uber will soon let you reserve a shuttle to get home from a big concert or ballgame

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Google I/O isn’t the only tech-adjacent event this week. Uber just held its annual GO-GET event and announced a whole bunch of new features coming to the rideshare platform/taxi app/whatever you wanna call it. Much of this news concerns shuttles and expanded ride sharing options, specifically a new option called Uber Shuttle.

This lets users reserve up to five seats up to seven days in advance for transportation to and from major events like concerts and basketball games, though it's also available for trips to the airport. The company brags that this feature is particularly budget-friendly, noting that each rider will pay “a fraction of the price of an UberX.” The company promises that these rides will not be impacted by surge pricing. It’s also worth noting that these shuttles are only for events listed in the app, which is kind of a bummer. 

Uber has partnered with Live Nation to bring these shuttles to certain venues throughout the summer, including Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and Charlotte’s PNC Pavilion. These Uber Shuttles won’t be your typical Nissan Sentra or Toyota Camry. They are actual shuttles that hold anywhere from 14 to 55 occupants. The company says each driver will be commercially licensed to operate a large transport vehicle.

Rideshare companies have been trying to crack the "rebranded bus" for a while now. Uber tried something in 2015, called Uber Hop, which was meant to group more riders together who are on a similar route. It didn't last, but Uber Pool shared rides were a thing for years until the pandemic. This time, Uber's effort is strictly targeted at events, trying to fill a gap that exists in places where public transportation to and from venues isn't terribly efficient thanks to our country's reliance on cars.

GO-GET wasn't just about shuttles with a fresh coat of Silicon Valley paint. UberX Share, the company's replacement for Uber Pool that launched in 2023, is getting a new feature that lets users schedule shared rides in advance to save a bit of money. The company notes that an average rider should save around 25 percent per ride using this tool when compared to a regular trip with UberX.

It says this is “perfect for commutes,” as the company has seen data that rides during traditional commuting hours have shot up recently. Uber also says its “intentionally launching this new offering in cities that have experienced some of the highest rates of employees returning to office.” This includes New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta, with more locations to be added in the near future.

The company also announced Uber Caregiver, which lets people book rides for loved ones to doctors appointments and the like. Eventually, you'll also be able to use it to get things like groceries or over-the-counter medication delivered as well. If you're caring for someone, they can add you in their Uber app as a designated Caregiver, which then gives you the option to do things like booking a ride. Uber says you'll also be able to apply insurance benefits — so if the person you're caring for is on a program that provides a set number of rides to a medical services center, for example, those things can be applied in the app to save you out-of-pocket cash. Caregiver will roll out this summer, starting with ride booking options.

The app being used to order Costco.
Uber

Food delivery platform Uber Eats is getting a couple of updates. The company has added Costco to its lineup of retail delivery offerings. Costco members will not only get stuff delivered, but should get an additional discount on top of membership privileges. Finally, Uber Eats Lists is a new way for people to decide on what to nosh on. This allows users to peruse restaurant recommendations from friends and local foodies. Uber says this “makes it easy to explore a new city or switch up your go-tos.” The service launches in July in NYC and Chicago, with more cities to come.

Regular Uber users should look out for these features throughout the summer, though not if they live in Minneapolis. Uber’s pulling up stakes after the city council voted to increase driver pay. It would rather leave a bustling metropolis than abide by a slight pay increase. After all, the idea of fair pay could spread and infect the innocent minds of Uber drivers everywhere. Long live the totally healthy and normal gig economy.

Correction, May 15 2024, 2:45PM ET: This story has been updated to correct information about Uber Caregiver and to clarify that surge pricing does not apply to the Uber Shuttle service. The headline has also been updated.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-will-soon-let-you-reserve-a-shuttle-to-get-home-from-a-big-concert-or-ballgame-160727564.html?src=rss

Uber will soon let you reserve a shuttle to get home from a big concert or ballgame

Posted on by

Google I/O isn’t the only tech-adjacent event this week. Uber just held its annual GO-GET event and announced a whole bunch of new features coming to the rideshare platform/taxi app/whatever you wanna call it. Much of this news concerns shuttles and expanded ride sharing options, specifically a new option called Uber Shuttle.

This lets users reserve up to five seats up to seven days in advance for transportation to and from major events like concerts and basketball games, though it's also available for trips to the airport. The company brags that this feature is particularly budget-friendly, noting that each rider will pay “a fraction of the price of an UberX.” The company promises that these rides will not be impacted by surge pricing. It’s also worth noting that these shuttles are only for events listed in the app, which is kind of a bummer. 

Uber has partnered with Live Nation to bring these shuttles to certain venues throughout the summer, including Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium and Charlotte’s PNC Pavilion. These Uber Shuttles won’t be your typical Nissan Sentra or Toyota Camry. They are actual shuttles that hold anywhere from 14 to 55 occupants. The company says each driver will be commercially licensed to operate a large transport vehicle.

Rideshare companies have been trying to crack the "rebranded bus" for a while now. Uber tried something in 2015, called Uber Hop, which was meant to group more riders together who are on a similar route. It didn't last, but Uber Pool shared rides were a thing for years until the pandemic. This time, Uber's effort is strictly targeted at events, trying to fill a gap that exists in places where public transportation to and from venues isn't terribly efficient thanks to our country's reliance on cars.

GO-GET wasn't just about shuttles with a fresh coat of Silicon Valley paint. UberX Share, the company's replacement for Uber Pool that launched in 2023, is getting a new feature that lets users schedule shared rides in advance to save a bit of money. The company notes that an average rider should save around 25 percent per ride using this tool when compared to a regular trip with UberX.

It says this is “perfect for commutes,” as the company has seen data that rides during traditional commuting hours have shot up recently. Uber also says its “intentionally launching this new offering in cities that have experienced some of the highest rates of employees returning to office.” This includes New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta, with more locations to be added in the near future.

The company also announced Uber Caregiver, which lets people book rides for loved ones to doctors appointments and the like. Eventually, you'll also be able to use it to get things like groceries or over-the-counter medication delivered as well. If you're caring for someone, they can add you in their Uber app as a designated Caregiver, which then gives you the option to do things like booking a ride. Uber says you'll also be able to apply insurance benefits — so if the person you're caring for is on a program that provides a set number of rides to a medical services center, for example, those things can be applied in the app to save you out-of-pocket cash. Caregiver will roll out this summer, starting with ride booking options.

The app being used to order Costco.
Uber

Food delivery platform Uber Eats is getting a couple of updates. The company has added Costco to its lineup of retail delivery offerings. Costco members will not only get stuff delivered, but should get an additional discount on top of membership privileges. Finally, Uber Eats Lists is a new way for people to decide on what to nosh on. This allows users to peruse restaurant recommendations from friends and local foodies. Uber says this “makes it easy to explore a new city or switch up your go-tos.” The service launches in July in NYC and Chicago, with more cities to come.

Regular Uber users should look out for these features throughout the summer, though not if they live in Minneapolis. Uber’s pulling up stakes after the city council voted to increase driver pay. It would rather leave a bustling metropolis than abide by a slight pay increase. After all, the idea of fair pay could spread and infect the innocent minds of Uber drivers everywhere. Long live the totally healthy and normal gig economy.

Correction, May 15 2024, 2:45PM ET: This story has been updated to correct information about Uber Caregiver and to clarify that surge pricing does not apply to the Uber Shuttle service. The headline has also been updated.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/uber-will-soon-let-you-reserve-a-shuttle-to-get-home-from-a-big-concert-or-ballgame-160727564.html?src=rss

Netflix will stream the Mark Twain Prize honoring Kevin Hart on May 11

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Netflix is the new streaming home of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor as part of a multiyear deal. This year's prize is going to Kevin Hart, who is being honored for his "extraordinary contributions to the genre and his impressive achievements across comedy, film and television." The likes of Dave Chappelle, Jimmy Fallon, Tiffany Haddish, Regina Hall, Chelsea Handler, Nelly, Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld are set to pay tribute to Hart (and perhaps roast him a bit) at the ceremony. For what it's worth, Hart inked a multiyear movie deal with Netflix in 2021.

The Mark Twain Prize is in its 25th year and it's perhaps one of the most prestigious comedy awards in the US. It's awarded to those who have had "an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th-century novelist and essayist Samuel Clemens, best known as Mark Twain," a press release notes. Previous recipients include Richard Pryor, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Lorne Michaels, Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, George Carlin, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Carol Burnett, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, David Letterman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jon Stewart and Adam Sandler.

The ceremony takes place on March 24 at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington DC. You'll be able to watch it when it hits Netflix on May 11. That's during the Netflix is a Joke festival, a series of stand-up shows taking place in Los Angeles that will also stream on the platform. Netflix has a rich history of comedy specials and shows at this point, so it seems like a natural fit for the Mark Twain Prize, which was previously broadcast on Comedy Central, PBS and CNN.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-will-stream-the-mark-twain-prize-honoring-kevin-hart-on-may-11-162300362.html?src=rss

TikTok’s Ticketmaster integration expands to users outside the US

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Back in August, TikTok teamed up with Ticketmaster to allow artists to sell tickets to live events directly through the social media app. The service, however, was exclusive to the US, until now. TikTok just announced the partnership with Ticketmaster now extends to more than 20 countries throughout North America and Europe, in addition to Australia and the UK.

The tool only applies to artists officially certified by the platform, though TikTok says that amounts to more than 75,000 entertainers and event providers. The functionality is simple. The artist embeds a link to a relevant Ticketmaster event on a video. Users click a link on the bottom left of the screen and purchase a ticket, but we encourage would-be buyers to keep an eye on those hidden fees.

Music is the primary motivator here, but you can snag tickets for comedy shows and sporting events, among other types of entertainment. TikTok boasts that the program has already supported successful ticketing campaigns for artists like Shania Twain, Burna Boy, The Kooks and many more, going on to say that there has been more than 2.5 billion views of videos that utilize the in-app ticketing feature since launch.

The tool’s available now for those living in newly-eligible countries, like Sweden, Switzerland, Poland and around 17 more. TikTok hasn’t announced future availability for additional locations, but a spokesperson has stated that the company is “very excited to see how the partnership with Ticketmaster will develop over time.”

Snapchat made a similar move last year, partnering with Ticketmaster to match users with nearby live concerts. However, TikTok’s method is more streamlined and should allow for quicker access to tickets.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tiktoks-ticketmaster-integration-expands-to-users-outside-the-us-182324778.html?src=rss

Netflix inches further into livestreaming as it snags the SAG Awards

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Netflix is slowly starting to make more waves in the world of livestreaming, as the company has snagged the rights to broadcast the Screen Actors Guild Awards. This year’s ceremony will take place on February 26th and stream on Netflix’s YouTube channel. Starting next year, Netflix will livestream the SAG Awards globally on its own platform as part of a multi-year deal. Until last year, the ceremony aired on TBS and TNT.

“The SAG Awards are beloved by the creative community and viewers alike, and now even more fans around the world will be able to celebrate these talented actors,” Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s head of global TV, told Variety in a statement. “As we begin to explore live streaming on Netflix, we look forward to partnering with SAG-AFTRA to elevate and expand this special ceremony as a global live event in 2024 and the years to come.”

The SAG Awards are a key precursor for the Oscars. They offer a glimpse into how Academy Awards voters are leaning, particularly for the acting categories. TV performances are honored at the event too. The Netflix announcement comes on the same day that this year’s SAG Awards nominees were revealed.

Netflix has only just started dipping its toes into livestreaming as it pursues more ways to engage subscribers and bring in new ones. In November, the company announced its first livestream event for its own platform. It will broadcast a Chris Rock standup special on March 4th.

Ticketmaster faces antitrust scrutiny in Mexico following Bad Bunny ticket sales fiasco

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The head of Profeco, Mexico’s consumer protection watchdog, has promised to sue Ticketmaster following a ticketing snafu in the country’s capital, reports The New York Times. On the weekend of December 9th, Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny was scheduled to play two soldout shows in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, the largest stadium in Latin America. The Friday night date saw thousands of fans denied entry to the venue after they were told by Estadio Azteca staff the tickets they bought directly from Ticketmaster were fake.

Profeco accused the company of overselling tickets. According to the agency, more than 1,600 ticket holders were denied entry on the first night, and another 110 on the following evening. “Ticketmaster claimed they were counterfeit, but they were all issued by them,” Profeco head Ricardo Sheffield told local news outlets. Ticketmaster has agreed to refund all affected fans the full price of their ticket, plus a 20 percent compensation fee. Profeco is preparing to file a class-action lawsuit against the company. Ticketmaster Mexico could also be fined up to 10 percent of its total sales in 2021. “As we are a fiscal authority, if they don’t want to pay of their own will, we will seize their accounts then, and they will pay because they have to,” Sheffield said.

In a statement Ticketmaster posted to Twitter this week, the company denied the claim it oversold tickets. It blamed the event on demand for Bad Bunny tickets – saying more than 4.5 million people tried to purchase just 120,000 stubs – and scalpers who sold fake tickets. “On Friday, an unprecedented number of false tickets, not bought through our official channels, were presented at the gates," the company said, according to an Associated Press translation. “The situation, in addition to confusion among access control personnel, caused temporary interruptions in the ticket reading system, which unfortunately momentarily impeded recognition of legitimate tickets.”

In November, Democratic lawmakers, including House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, began calling for the break up of Ticketmaster after the company botched sales of Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets. “Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, its merger with LiveNation should never have been approved, and they need to be reigned in,” Ocasio-Cortez said last month. The US Department of Justice reportedly opened an antitrust investigation into Ticketmaster parent company LiveNation before the Swift fiasco. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumers recently announced it would hold a hearing on the company’s recent failures. 

Ticketmaster faces antitrust scrutiny in Mexico following Bad Bunny ticket sales fiasco

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The head of Profeco, Mexico’s consumer protection watchdog, has promised to sue Ticketmaster following a ticketing snafu in the country’s capital, reports The New York Times. On the weekend of December 9th, Puerto Rican reggaeton star Bad Bunny was scheduled to play two soldout shows in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca, the largest stadium in Latin America. The Friday night date saw thousands of fans denied entry to the venue after they were told by Estadio Azteca staff the tickets they bought directly from Ticketmaster were fake.

Profeco accused the company of overselling tickets. According to the agency, more than 1,600 ticket holders were denied entry on the first night, and another 110 on the following evening. “Ticketmaster claimed they were counterfeit, but they were all issued by them,” Profeco head Ricardo Sheffield told local news outlets. Ticketmaster has agreed to refund all affected fans the full price of their ticket, plus a 20 percent compensation fee. Profeco is preparing to file a class-action lawsuit against the company. Ticketmaster Mexico could also be fined up to 10 percent of its total sales in 2021. “As we are a fiscal authority, if they don’t want to pay of their own will, we will seize their accounts then, and they will pay because they have to,” Sheffield said.

In a statement Ticketmaster posted to Twitter this week, the company denied the claim it oversold tickets. It blamed the event on demand for Bad Bunny tickets – saying more than 4.5 million people tried to purchase just 120,000 stubs – and scalpers who sold fake tickets. “On Friday, an unprecedented number of false tickets, not bought through our official channels, were presented at the gates," the company said, according to an Associated Press translation. “The situation, in addition to confusion among access control personnel, caused temporary interruptions in the ticket reading system, which unfortunately momentarily impeded recognition of legitimate tickets.”

In November, Democratic lawmakers, including House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, began calling for the break up of Ticketmaster after the company botched sales of Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets. “Daily reminder that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, its merger with LiveNation should never have been approved, and they need to be reigned in,” Ocasio-Cortez said last month. The US Department of Justice reportedly opened an antitrust investigation into Ticketmaster parent company LiveNation before the Swift fiasco. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumers recently announced it would hold a hearing on the company’s recent failures. 

Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift fiasco sparks Senate antitrust hearing

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Ticketmaster's chaotic handling of Taylor Swift's tour ticket sales has brought the company under increased scrutiny, including from lawmakers. Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT), the chair and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights, have announced a hearing to gather evidence on competition in the ticketing industry. They have yet to confirm when the hearing will take place or the witnesses that the committee will call upon.

Swift's fans overwhelmed Ticketmaster's systems in the gold rush for tickets to her first tour in five years. Ticketmaster says presale codes went out to 1.5 million people, but 14 million (including "a staggering number" of bots) tried to buy tickets. The company said it was slammed with 3.5 billion total system requests, four times its previous peak. When fans were able to make it to the seat selection screen, many effectively had tickets snatched out of their hands as tried to put them in their carts.

There was supposed to be a general sale for the remaining tickets last Friday, but Ticketmaster canceled that, citing "extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand." Even though the level of interest in Swift's stadium shows was evidently through the roof, Ticketmaster's management of the process has raised a lot of questions. Swift said Ticketmaster assured her and her team that it could handle the demand. However, she said the mayhem “pissed me off.”

After the presale mess, Klobuchar (who wrote to Ticketmaster to ask if the company is taking appropriate measures to provide the best service it can) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal said they were concerned about "the state of competition in the ticketing industry." Others, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for Ticketmaster's parent, Live Nation, to be broken up.

Along with selling event tickets, the company owns and operates many venues and manages several major artists. Last week, it was reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been conducting an antitrust investigation into Live Nation for several months.

“Last week, the competition problem in ticketing markets was made painfully obvious when Ticketmaster’s website failed hundreds of thousands of fans hoping to purchase concert tickets. The high fees, site disruptions and cancellations that customers experienced shows how Ticketmaster’s dominant market position means the company does not face any pressure to continually innovate and improve,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “That’s why we will hold a hearing on how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industry harms customers and artists alike. When there is no competition to incentivize better services and fair prices, we all suffer the consequences.”

Ticketmaster has said it's adhering to a 2010 consent decree it has with the DOJ that allowed its merger with Live Nation to go ahead. “Ticketmaster has a significant share of the primary ticketing services market because of the large gap that exists between the quality of the Ticketmaster system and the next best primary ticketing system,” it added in a statement to Deadline.

The DOJ was reportedly investigating Ticketmaster before the Taylor Swift debacle

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The Department of Justice has reportedly opened an antitrust investigation into Live Nation, the parent of Ticketmaster, to determine if the company has abused its power in the live music industry. The investigation is said to have been ongoing over the last several months. The New York Times reported on the investigation after Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen fans had an excessively difficult time trying to buy tickets for those artists' tours.

The DOJ's antitrust division has been asking music venues and stakeholders in the ticketing market about the industry and Live Nation’s practices, according to the report. The agency is said to be looking into whether Live Nation holds a monopoly in the live music space.

The company owns and/or operates many venues, including the House of Blues, and it runs festivals like Lollapalooza and Download. It sells tickets to those places and events through Ticketmaster. Live Nation also manages dozens of notable artists.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010 after gaining approval from the DOJ. The agency imposed some conditions on the deal, such as Live Nation having to sell some parts of its business. For a 10-year period, Live Nation was prohibited from threatening to keep tours away from venues that don't use Ticketmaster. In 2019, the DOJ determined that Live Nation broke that condition, and it extended the merger agreement provision period to 2025.

Bringing things up to date, Swifties (and bots) crashed Ticketmaster on Tuesday as they attempted to snag tickets for the megastar's first tour in five years during a pre-sale. Ticketmaster said a load of more than 3.5 billion system requests caused havoc.

"The site was supposed to open up for 1.5 million verified Taylor Swift fans," Greg Maffei, the CEO of Live Nation's biggest shareholder Liberty Media, told CNBC. "We had 14 million people hit the site, including bots, which are not supposed to be there.”

Fans waited in queues for hours and when they were finally able to select a seat, many were still unable to grab tickets. In many cases, tickets were essentially snatched out of customers' hands as they tried to put them in their cart. A general sale for the remaining tickets was supposed to take place on Friday, but Ticketmaster canceled it "due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand."

The chaos led to calls to break up Live Nation, including from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar expressed concern over " the state of competition in the ticketing industry," as Reuters notes.

"I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could," Swift wrote in an Instagram Story on Friday. "It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them."

This is far from the first time people had a chaotic experience while trying to get tickets to see a major artist. Blink-182 and Paramore tours sold out almost instantly. Ticketmaster's controversial dynamic pricing system led to some fans paying thousands of dollars for Bruce Springsteen tickets — even before those sought-after tickets hit secondary markets.

Engadget has contacted Live Nation for comment. The Department of Justice doesn't comment on ongoing investigations.